Issue 86

Media Monitoring: Extract of Press News on Higher Education in Africa

1. World Bank Increased Investment in Zimbabwe’s Tertiary Education Essential to Economic Growth, Human Capital Development (Zimbabwe) Extensive reforms are required to translate the government’s education vision into a concrete set of programs and projects to accelerate economic recovery and reduce socioeconomic disparities, the Zimbabwe Higher and Tertiary Education Sector Analysis Report found. Developed by the World Bank and the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Department (MHTEISTD), the report acknowledges the ongoing reform efforts that the department has embarked on under its Education 5.0 strategy to revitalize higher and tertiary education through the five pillars of Teaching, Research, Community Service, Innovation, and Industrialization. The report also finds that throughout the past decade, Zimbabwe has sustained a high level of public education spending, including spending on tertiary education, relative to the size of its economy. The macro-economic challenges in that last two years have however seen significant decline in education spending both as a percentage of total government expenditure and as a percentage of gross domestic product. “The government’s longstanding commitment to education spending reflects the importance of human-capital development as a national cultural value. As we are fully cognizant of the ever-changing world in which we operate we now seek to transform our Tertiary Education to meaningfully impact economic productivity and workforce skills development,” said Professor Fanuel Tagwira, Permanent Secretary, MHTIESTD. Th education analysis underscores the recent World Bank Digital Economy Diagnostic for Zimbabwe launched in May, which revealed that Zimbabwe is facing a significant skills deficit in science and technology-linked job roles, including digital skills. Studies on the digital transformation of the African economy stress the importance for Zimbabwe of further developing its science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs. “Digital economies are energized when there is a sizeable population with basic digital skills and a critical mass of tech-savvy skilled personnel and advanced specialists that help to adapt and diffuse digital technologies across different sectors. Therefore, Zimbabwe requires focused effort on developing a digitally competent workforce and digitally literate citizens who could reap the benefits that the digital transformation can bring,” said Mukami Kariuki, World Bank Country Manager, Zimbabwe. Read more here

2. Morocco World News Scientists discover rare plant fossil from late Devonian Era in Morocco An international team of scientists, led by Mostafa Oukassou and Serge V. Naugolnykh, have discovered the first record of a plant from the Late Devonian era in the Moroccan Meseta. The study was published in the Journal of African Earth Sciences, and it is based on six “practically complete specimens including holotype” that were preserved “as compression and impression in quartzitic sandstone of the top of Dalaa Formation.” According to the authors, the study breaks new grounds and allows for a more thorough understanding of the diversity of the Devonian era land plants, which would have grown anywhere between 419.2 million years ago and 358.9 million years ago. The Devonian was a significant period in the history of the evolution of land vegetation. “It corresponds to the final stage of the terrestrialization process when plants gradually came to occupy all the lowlands of the continents and formed the first

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highly sophisticated ecosystems,” the study notes. The discovery is significant as, compared to North and South America, Eurasia, and Australia, the era’s plant record from Africa is particularly sparse. The study was done on behalf of the Laboratory of Applied Geology, Geomatic and Environment, Department of Geology, of Hassan II University of Casablanca, Morocco, the Geological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Kazan (Privolzhsky) Federal University. With growing interest from both local and foreign scientists, Morocco has seen a wave of discoveries in recent years. Earlier this year a team of researchers discovered a 2.5 million year old macaque fossil in Guefait, Morocco, which dates back more than 2.5 million years. At around the same time, another team of scientists announced the discovery of a crushed ossified lung from a 66-million years old coelacanth in Oued Zem, in Morocco’s Beni Mellal- Khenifra region. Read more here

3. University World News Why sustainability is not enough in international education (Global) Sustainability is a hot buzzword in international education right now, especially as we plan for a post- COVID-19 era. As a consequence of the abrupt halt in overseas travel and public mobility due to the pandemic, the earth has benefitted from significantly reduced pollution. Such has also led wildlife previously displaced by human activity to re-enter habitats now suddenly available. The hope is that such improvements are not temporary and that humans may lessen their negative impacts on the environment in the long term. The United Nations has marked 2021 as a critical year to “reset our relationship with nature” as experts warn that “we are in a state of planetary emergency”. Even before COVID-19, there was accumulating interest in international education’s impact on the carbon footprint. And since the pandemic, there have been increasing calls for greater responsibility towards sustainability in international education. When it comes to overseas travel in particular, that might mean reducing long- haul flights, choosing nearby destinations and harnessing online learning platforms, all as efforts to mitigate harm to the planet. Considering the growing demand for international education, such measures to lessen the negative effects of travel would certainly slow some greenhouse gas emissions and help the environment. Sustainability problems in international education with a growing world population and increasing pressure on limited natural resources, ‘sustainability’ efforts are bound to privilege access to the elite few. Raising costs is a common management approach to reducing human traffic while maintaining operating income. New Zealand, for example, is considering a controversial departure tax for all international flights to lower the number of visitors, as a consequence of the environmental and social burden that crowds of tourists place on the ecosystem and local communities. Over-tourism to other globally popular destinations, such as Machu Picchu in Peru, Santorini in Greece and Angkor Wat in Cambodia, have led to deterioration there as well. Even places committed to nature and wildlife conservation, such as United States National Parks and Africa’s Serengeti National Park, have suffered from too many visitors. Furthermore, the absence of human intervention has its downsides as well. In the case of the recent anthropause, the lack of stewardship has led to decreased conservation enforcement, which in turn has increased poaching and unchecked use of parks in some areas. Read more here

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4. UNISA 'Writing does not equal research' (South Africa) Former Unisa College of Human Sciences academic, Prof Christo Lombaard, asserts that all research is relevant. "No academic chooses a topic that has no meaning," he says. Lombaard is a C1-rated National Research Foundation (NRF) researcher, specialising in Biblical Spirituality. He says: "Biblical Spirituality is about analysing, historically, the experience of faith that found expression in the biblical texts and related to our contemporary world. Furthermore," he says, "it is about how impulses from the Bible texts influence the lives of individuals, groups and societies, in both explicit and implicit ways." Lombaard argues that research is always up to date. He explains: "If it does not take cognisance of the newest publications, trends, insights and debates, nor make a new contribution, it is per definition not research, but simply writing." Lombaard’s most recent work focuses on the relationship between important political concepts and underlying or parallel religious concepts, as well as the relationship between youth education in church, spirituality and the Bible. Speaking about the rating process, Lombaard says he firmly believes that it can be improved. "It cannot be that the main reason to submit to the process is that institutions attach so much weight to it," he says. "My view is that institutions need to appropriately understand the rating numbers awarded to individual researchers. Critical voices on this rating process need to be heard. Completing the NRF rating forms should not be a time-consuming process as more time needs to be spent on conducting actual research." According to Lombaard, much research is experimental. "An avenue may be explored for its potential worth," he says. "If the research then shows that the avenue is not worthwhile pursuing, that is a very important academic contribution. It may seem irrelevant to many people, yet may, in fact, result in an improved understanding of the world, and therefore constitutes research worthy to explore as part of academic duty." Read more here

5. The Citizen Tanzania can be an innovation hub in 21st century: don (Tanzania) Tanzania has the potential to become an innovation hub, Prof Felix Chami, an archeologist from the University of Dar es Salaam told The Citizen in an interview recently. However, he said, “this would be achieved only if researchers were to focus on discovering new things that respond to the current and future needs of the society”. Through his research book titled Peopling of the Swahili Coast from the Last Ice Age, he revealed to have gained the confidence to challenge people that not everything said about African’s origin is correct as per the evidence in his new discoveries. On Friday, Prof Chami gave his inaugural lecture, which is one of the university’s opportune occasion to acknowledge the appointment or promotion of new, full professors, saying he is deeply hurt every time he sees so many discoveries being those of past explorers/inventors. “Were these people angels?” The senior lecturer from the department of Archaeology and Heritage questioned. “As academics, we need to ask ourselves these kinds of questions.” His appointment to a ‘full professor’ category was a result of his numerous studies and publications in reputable journals. “In all my research I refused to feel content with what other explorers (from outside Tanzania) found, instead I wanted to always show that there are many things that we may not have been told. One of them is what I have presented here today,” he said. He said scholars and researchers of this generation have a responsibility to prove, for instance, the history of their country as

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in many cases there has been a belief in some things that never existed. “Through my findings, I want us to agree that we can do a lot. We need to be aware of our potential and focus on conducting new research aimed at unveiling new discoveries and solutions,” he said. The professor of Archeology since 2003 with interest in the archeology of the coast of East Africa suggests that the government and other stakeholders need to help educate and support young people in a way that will motivate them to aspire to discover new things through innovation and research. “Our young academic and upcoming researchers should not just strive to graduate at various levels. The ability to create jobs is full-inside them. It is discouraging that we even import injections,” argued Prof Chami. “We can make this country a hub,” he noted, “researchers in the fields of science and technology should conduct research which will help us get rid of the wave of material poverty.” Read more here

6. University World News Students call on new female minister to tackle problems (Mauritania) The General Union of Mauritanian Students has called upon Amal Mint Cheikh Abdallah, Mauritania’s new minister for higher education and scientific research, to tackle a range of tough challenges in the sector. The 39-year-old’s appointment was announced on 27 May by Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, the president of Mauritania, in a sweeping cabinet shake-up. She replaced Sidi Ould Salem who headed the ministry of higher education, scientific research and information and communication technologies, which was split into two ministries – the ministry of higher education and scientific research and the ministry of digital transformation, innovation and modernisation of administration. Abdallah graduated from the France- based University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne in economic studies in 2001 and obtained a Maîtrise certificate from France in economic policy analysis in 2002, preceded by a Diplôme d’études universitaires générales in 2000. Her expertise in state law, good governance and elections, diplomacy and negotiations as well as development has served her well as she worked for the African Union Commission and also as an adviser in the Presidency of Mauritania. Abdallah is the daughter of Mauritania’s former president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallah, the West African state’s first democratic president elected in April 2007, who died last year. He governed for only 15 months before he was replaced by general Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz in a military coup. Abdel Aziz served two terms before he was succeeded by the current president, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani in 2019. Local reports suggested that the appointment of the new minister appeared to be less about capability and more of an attempt “to restore the honour of the former president’s family that has been systematically targeted in the past decade”. But Sheikh Ibrahim Ould Al-Din, the secretary general of the General Union of Mauritanian Students, welcomed the appointment of the new minister. Rejecting the claims of local reports, Ould Al-Din told University World News via WhatsApp: “We have great confidence in her youth, vitality and high-level know-how to reform the higher education and scientific research sector.” Mauritania is currently a very low performer in terms of its knowledge infrastructure as it ranks 136 out of 138 countries in the Global Knowledge Index 2020 which ranks it in 132 and 137 positions globally with reference to higher education as well as research development and innovation respectively. “This is a sound decision, as the student unions were harmed by the outgoing minister,” said Ould Al-Din.

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Students’ demands “We hope that the new minister will have an ambitious vision to activate the role of student unions to participate in university affairs, to democratise education and to follow the policy of open dialogue,” Ould Al-Din added. “Of course, we will cooperate with the new minister and we will share our ideas, requests and demands,” he emphasised. “We call upon the new minister to urgently tackle the difficult conditions facing the community of students, including housing that lacks maintenance,” Ould Al- Din said. “Other difficulties include the freedom of the student unions, which are suppressed on campus, obtaining scholarships and their disbursement, which are chaotic, and graduates who cannot be accommodated in the limited number of masters’ majors,” he said. Read more here

7. Nyasa Times Fresh graduates challenged to make positive contribution to the nation (Malawi) Each year, thousands of professionals graduate from the country’s colleges and universities, yet Malawi seems to be making sluggish progress in addressing her social and economic challenges. Is the problem our education system or our graduates have simply chosen not to do the right thing? It is probably against this background that on Friday, the Vice Chancellor of the ShareWorld Open University, Professor Theodora Mapemba, challenged graduands from the college to set out to the country to help address new challenges facing the country. The Deputy Minister of Education, Madalitso Kambauwa Wilima, presided over the graduation, which took place at the university’s campus at Katete in Area 36. Mapemba further urged the graduating professionals to make a positive contribution towards the socioeconomic development of the country. “I urge you to seize these opportunities and help lead our society into a promising future. Do not divert from the journey you have taken until you are proud of your achievements. If you want to be successful, don’t just dream, work for that success. Whatever you do, do it so well so that you leave a mark everywhere you go. You will never know the greatness inside you until you dare yourself,” she said. Mapemba boasted that though the university started as a simple wish in Blantyre, it has managed to expand campuses to Lilongwe as the main campus, Mzuzu and in the recent past, Chipata, Zambia. “This has led us to expand not only our approaches to teaching and learning but also to introducing new courses relevant locally, regionally and internationally through our curriculum review process. Most of our graduates have risen to high positions in the sectors for which we have been providing courses such as government, parastatal organizations, media houses and various non- governmental organizations, and they have made a great impact in these sectors,” she said. In her remarks, Kambauwa Wilima said it is the wish of the Tonse Alliance government to ensure that every Malawian access quality education irrespective of the social and economic status they are coming from. The deputy minister therefore commended the private universities for contributing towards expanding tertiary education in Malawi. She also assured the private tertiary education institutions of the government’s support. Read more here

8. News 24

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SA Medical Research Council launches tool to track Covid-19 in (South Africa) The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has begun tracking Covid-19 through wastewater in four provinces. Last week, SAMRC launched its wastewater surveillance dashboard that tracks the levels of SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19. SARS-CoV-2 can be shed in faeces of people who are symptomatic or asymptomatic. SAMRC tests wastewater from parts of the Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Limpopo and the Western Cape weekly to see the amount of the virus in a particular community, which allows them to map the virus's trends. Dr Mongezi Mdhluli, the Chief Research Operations Officer at the SAMRC, said that this tool would help public health authorities come up with timeous interventions to help reduce the spread of the virus. "The new, interactive SAMRC wastewater surveillance dashboard will provide relevant provinces, local authorities and health departments with a further source of intelligence to inform decisions and interventions to for and manage Covid-19," said Mdhluli SAMRC has been gathering data from 70 plants in the four provinces and has been working with five research units within SAMRC, including their Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP) and other organisations. Dr Rabia Johnson from BRIP said they were working with various higher education institutions where students and staff from partner institutions were being trained on laboratory methods, with the focus being on Under-Resourced Institutions. "We work closely with our four partner laboratories, the University of Venda, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, the University of Fort Hare and Nelson Mandela University, to build capacity and ensure robust quality management," said Johnson. Meanwhile, the Durban University of Technology's Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology said that wastewater analysis in KwaZulu-Natal indicated that the province might already be experiencing the third wave of Covid-19. Read more here

9. The Herald Nust gets funds to procure Covid-19 reagents manufacturing machine (South Africa) GOVERNMENT has released about US$87 000 to the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) for procurement of a Covid-19 reagents manufacturing machine. The machine will enable the university to make Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) kits and the cost of Covid-19 testing will be reduced by over 60 percent. Currently, the conclusive test costs about US$60 and may go as low as US$20 once the machine becomes operational. Besides making Covid-19 testing kits, the machine can make reagents to test for many other diseases that include HIV. The development will save the country from importing the conclusive diagnostic test kit that determines if one is infected by analysing a sample for genetic material from the virus. The new machine will also enable the country to detect various Covid-19 variants. Nust will produce about 50 000 PCR kits weekly while the country conducts about 15 000 Covid-19 weekly at the moment. Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Professor Amon Murwira said Government released the funds as it realises the critical role played by Nust in the Covid-19 fight. “It’s our responsibility to support the innovation hub and one of the issues that Nust is doing is genetics stuff. You know that Nust was the first in Bulawayo to convert the TB Laboratories at Mpilo Central Hospital for Covid-19 testing. We are going further to try and manufacture some of the testing materials. We have gone ahead to fund them to do that. It’s a lot of money. It is enough to buy the machine, the amount doesn’t matter,” said Prof Murwira. He said the money will capacitate Nust to

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import the machine and install it. Prof Murwira said the procurement and installation of the machine lies in Nust’s hands. Nust’s Applied Genetic Testing Centre director Mr Zephaniah Dhlamini said the machine will be delivered into the country in October. He said due to Covid-19 related pressure, the manufacturer of the PCR making machine is battling to clear a backlog. “They (Government) gave us €71 000 in US dollar equivalent terms (US$86 532.60). The money is meant to buy a DNA synthesizer also known as an oligomaker. Read more here

10. University World News Medical graduates ‘lack knowledge on antibiotics’ (East Africa) Most medical graduates from various universities in East Africa have very little practical knowledge on the use of antibiotics in clinical scenarios and other hospital settings, a new study shows, and suggests that the situation might be widespread in the region. The study, “Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions about antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance among final-year undergraduate medical and pharmacy students at three universities in East Africa”, was conducted jointly by researchers at Makerere University in Uganda, Mount Kenya University in Kenya and the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences in Tanzania. It found that only about 37% of sampled final-year students had a good general knowledge of antibiotics. The researchers included Dr Margaret Lubwama, a microbiology lecturer at Makerere University, Dr Jackson Onyuka, the head of the department of medical laboratory sciences at Mount Kenya University, and Dr Martha Mushi, a senior lecturer in microbiology at Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences. A study sample of 328 students from the three regional universities was used to assess the readiness of final-year medical students to combat antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobial resistance is reaching alarming levels in most parts of the world, according to the World Health Organization. This is mainly because of the unsafe use of antibiotics and is likely to increase the cost of health-care services in most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2050. According to a World Bank report, Drug-Resistant Infections: A threat to our economic future, many bacteria are not just resistant to the older generations but also to third-generation antibiotics. “Bearing this in mind, efforts to minimise the emergence and spread of antimicrobial threats cannot be one-off or limited to a temporary action plan,” the World Bank report noted. The East Africa study was led by Lubwama and published in the PLOS ONE journal in May. It indicates an urgent need to address some of the exposed gaps in the training of medical professionals in various universities in Eastern Africa.

11. Inside higher Ed Online Leaders to Prioritize Flexibility Post-Pandemic (Global) A report exploring the impact of the pandemic on the future of online learning suggests many campus leaders want to offer increased flexibility in teaching modality to students. How they will achieve this goal remains to be seen. Chief online officers are already planning how to take advantage of the online learning expertise their institutions gained during the pandemic, according to a new report on the future of online learning post-pandemic. The sixth Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) report, published today by Eduventures Research and Quality Matters, offers insight into how college and university administrators responded to the pandemic and what online learning leaders consider to be strategic

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priorities for online learning over the next three to five years. Contrary to the fears of some online learning advocates, the hurried shift to remote instruction in 2020 appears to have boosted support for online learning, said Ron Legon, executive director emeritus at Quality Matters and senior editor of the report. “In the early days of the pandemic, there was considerable concern that poorly done online courses might hurt the reputation of online learning,” said Legon. That opinion has now shifted, and online learning has “grown in stature and acceptability,” he said. The CHLOE report, which includes partial and complete survey responses from 422 chief online learning officers, indicates there is now greater concern for quality standards and increased commitment to faculty professional development and preparing face-to-face students to study online. The survey was sent to a total of 3,452 colleges and universities in February 2021. Preparing students for online learning with both optional and required orientation courses increased significantly in popularity in fall 2020, the survey found. Chief online learning officers ranked enhancing academic services as their top student-related priority over the next few years, followed by student support services and student orientation. College and university investments in ed tech increased more than ever in 2020 and 2021 across all sectors of higher ed -- including institutions such as traditional liberal arts colleges that previously did very little online instruction, said Legon. The use of videoconferencing tools and virtual labs increased significantly between 2019 and 2021, according to the report. Awareness of the digital divide between students who have access to the internet and technology and those who don't appeared to be mixed among chief online officers. A majority of these online learning leaders, 60 percent, said that less than 15 percent of their students had experienced internet connectivity or device access problems during the pivot to remote learning. Read more here

12. The daily monitor Students living with disabilities in Mbale struggle to find services (Uganda) Lack of infrastructure for pupils and students living with disabilities in Mbale City has continued to hinder their education. Many schools lack standardised ramps, clean intermittent catheterisation pit-latrines, among other facilities. Ms Hope Nasubo, 18, a Senior Four student, who was born with spina bifida, at the weekend told Daily Monitor that the government should enforce construction of ramps with rail placements in all schools to ensure inclusive education. “Life is difficult for pupils and students living with disabilities, especially those with mobility and toileting challenges in schools that do not have such facilities,” she said. “The main entrance to schools should be made more accessible by fixing a concrete bench and the walkways joining classes. The kitchen areas should be made accessible by wheelchairs,” she said.Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord do not form properly. Mr George Wakooli, 21, a resident of Mooni in Mbale City, who was born with hydrocephalus defect, said the government should not neglect them. “The general school environment is still unsafe for us. Some ramps and verandas are unsafe without rails,” he said. Hydrocephalus is a condition that occurs when fluids build up in the skull and cause the brain to swell. Ms Jackline Ahimbisibwe, the team leader of eastern Uganda Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Network, said some government-aided schools have ramps but they are not up to standard. “Some schools have ramps but they are not of required standard to ease accessibility of pupils and students with disabilities. There is more work to be done,” she said. Ms Ahimbisibwe said they have so far supported infrastructure modifications in four schools in Mbale to ease accessibility for

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children living with disabilities. “The modifications are to ensure comfort and safety for children with mobility and toileting challenges as they move around the school facilities,” she said, adding that ramps were completed with all borderlines placed in the schools. The beneficiaries include Wokukiri Primary School in Busiu Sub-county), Makhayi Primary School (Busoba sub -county) , Nyondo Demonstration Primary School (Nyondo Sub-county) and Nauyo Primary School (Nambale sub county). Mr Muhammed Mugoya, the inspector of schools in Mbale City, said the government is trying to ensure that schools have ramps and other required facilities. “The government has tried to put ramps in some schools but most of the private owned schools are doing badly because some of them operate in rented buildings,” Mr Mugoya, said. He said the government has also continued to put special needs schools across the country through affirmative actions to promote an inclusive environment for children with disabilities. However, Ms Monica Nyawere, a human rights activist, said it is government’s responsibility to ensure that the rights of children born with disabilities are fully respected and protected. “There are parents with such children, who have continued to hide them and have also denied them medication. Such parents should be arrested and prosecuted,” she said. Mr Micheal Ogwal, the medical officer attached to Cure Children’s hospital, said children born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus have academic potential like any other child. Read more here

Note to Editors/PROs:

To share news/events about your Universities, contact;

Name: Communications Assistant, Email: Executive Secretary Office [email protected] Evaline Acan

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